Shockingly, when Carleton prepares its class schedules for the new school year, it doesn’t line up its fourth-year journalism courses with its third-year statistics courses very well.
This June, I found myself faced with an entirely irreconcilable scheduling conflict—a mandatory statistics course and a mandatory journalism course that were effectively inside one another on my timetabling sheet.
Considering that I plan on graduating in June, the thought of taking an extra four months to take one more course next year was ridiculous. A novel idea came to mind, and I looked into taking the violating statistics course at the University of Ottawa.
On the surface, the Undergraduate Exchange Program between the University of Ottawa and Carleton seemed perfectly designed for people with my sort of problem.
Equivalent courses can be taken by students at the other university with no added tuition. Unlike other transfer programs, the grade I receive in the course will be transferred back to Carleton—instead of just the credit—and transportation between the campuses is easy.
Nothing, however, prepared me for the long, dark slog through bureaucracy ahead. From the get-go, nearly everyone I talked to at both registrar’s offices seemed foggy on the program’s details. A popular strategy was to transfer my call to “someone who understands this better,” which was frequently two minutes of dead ringing followed by a voicemail box.
Through online scrounging, I located a checklist for students attempting to make this transfer work. It was less a roadmap, and closer to the U.S Constitution, or the Old Testament—lots of vague semi-direction and cold, angry rules.
The lack of direction was really what made this entire process so awful. I was required to run a few pieces of paper back and forth between the two universities, in math department offices and up and down the Rideau Canal.
Unfortunately, my efficient, quick way of trying to enroll myself was not in line with the registrar’s, and I needed to wait arbitrary periods of time before continuing on my merry way. I was told that I should know these periods exist, but when I asked the bureaucrat who should have told me, I was met with a blank stare.
Compounding the issue, I was working in Toronto the entire summer and unable to actually shuffle this paper around Ottawa myself most of the time. I ended up having to beg my friends to move the paper about for me, subjecting them to the clueless registrar employees and depressing waiting rooms. Misery loves company.
I am very thankful for the program, but these things only work if there’s clear direction to the student, an efficient system of handling these requests, and an obvious end-goal for all people involved.
livia Keays
fourth year human rights
